Edward Barber / Jay Osgerby: Alphabet

Edward Barber / Jay Osgerby. Alphabet is the new exhibition that Triennale Milano is presenting on the occasion of Milano Design Week, a major monographic show dedicated to the London-based design duo. 

Curated by Marco Sammicheli, Director of Museo del Design Italiano of Triennale Milano, with exhibition design by studiomille, the exhibition explores three decades of activity in the field of design, from the first furnishing and product design projects to the large public commissions and the collaborations with international brands, tracing the evolution of the studio's work and its influence on the Italian and international design scene. 

The title of the exhibition is inspired by the desire to consider the stylistic alphabet that has developed over the course of Edward Barber's and Jay Osgerby's careers, through certain fixed points, including their deliberate use of color and the use they make of technical curvatures and angle gradations: these elements explain the changing production of the studio which has, over time, increased the sophistication and technology of their projects.

The exhibition unfolds through a chronological plan organized in themed decades, from the mid-1990s up to 2022, and traces the evolution of the studio's design approach, linked both to meticulous expert craftsmanship and to experimentation. Particular attention is devoted to the relationships between manufacturers and Italian design brands, emphasizing how these collaborations have shaped both the practice and the continuing dialogue with the design culture.

A key focus of the exhibition is the relationship with the exhibition design concept created by studiomille, offering visitors the chance to experience a kind of theater set, formed by a set of steps that was historically used for the anatomical examination of bodies; in this case, the steps restore the idea of staging and attitude to the studio. The itinerary, divided into four plinths, takes shape inside a system of curtains: starting with a description of the London studio's design method, it defines four large periods of their work as though they are epochs, covering almost forty years of the studio’s activity.

Edward Barber / Jay Osgerby. Alphabet is composed of a sequence of podiums, displaying objects that define the London studio's structural transformations and production. This area is preceded by a section of continuous shelving of prototypes, presenting an archive of models, mock-ups and unreleased products that offers a deeper insight into the design process and the studio's creative methodology. In addition, a chronological focus on the design sketches offers a complete view of the creative dialogue between Edward Barber, Jay Osgerby and companies on three continents.

To accompany the exhibition, a catalog was published by Triennale Milano and Electa. The book brings together essays and interviews spanning thirty  years of the studio’s work; an extensive catalogue of projects, illustrated with drawings, sketches, photographs, models, prototypes and objects, charts the emergence of a coherent, recognisable design alphabet.